The Ladies of SHEILD
by tegget
Summary: So basically I took out all the ladies of Avengers (just to clarify, I have NOTHING against Pepper and Hill and Jane... etc. I was merely bored) and replaced them with fictitious characters! It's movie based... sort of... anyway, none of the characters (minus the six ladies) are mine, nor is the idea of Avengers, SHIELD or the plot line. All belong to Marvel and whatnot. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Nick Fury jumped out of the helicopter, his long coat blowing around. Waiting on the landing deck was a woman in a black S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. Other than her long, dark brown braid blowing out behind her, she didn't move or flinch from the helicopter's blades.

Fury moved with a purpose past her and she quickly fell in behind him. The moment the doors of the base closed behind him, he wasted no time in ordering,

"Give me the rundown."

"Good to see you to," she muttered under her breath. Fury's eyes flashed in her direction for a moment,

"Something to say Agent Grey?"

"No sir," she said, snapping to attention. "The Tesseract is acting up sir. Throwing off waves of energy. Some Code Yellow evacuations have begun, but further than that, we await your judgement."

"Good, I want you to start evacuating all Phase 2 equipment out of here immediately." She gave him a sidelong look.

"Sir, is that really a… priority right now?"

"Yes, Agent Grey it is." He turned and looked at her, an amused smile barely hidden,

"Hop to it." Agent Grey saluted and turned smartly, gesturing for to dark clad agents to follow her. Fury turned back, continuing all the way to the lowest level of the base.

Agent Grey led her two helpers to huge iron door. Turning to the security pad she pressed a button, saying,

"Agent Grey, requesting access." There was an electronic beep and a scanner popped out. Grey leaned over and let it scan her eye and then thumbprint before it was satisfied and a voice said,

"Voice, eye and print recognition complete. Access granted." There was the loud thud of an internal bolt unlocking and then the thick door slowly slid open. Marching smartly inside, the other two guards quickly went about, packing up obscure, metal boxes without question.

In less than thirty minutes, the room was completely empty. Agent Grey dismissed the two agents and headed down to the loading dock to oversee the shipment of the boxes. When she arrived, she saw two very familiar figures arguing heatedly. She approached, pretending to be stern,

"Agent Carter stand down." The woman with short, sleek brown hair whirled to face her, protesting,

"But Nicole!"

"No Rowan. And that's Agent Grey to you." Rowan pouted and Nicole smirked, relenting,

"What is it this time?" Rowan didn't wait any longer to take off into a what was clearly going to be a long winded explanation.

"Well, see Jesse here ran into me and we started talking about normal stuff. Like how many bases she's blown up compared to me and so when she said she'd blown up twenty seven, I said I'd blown up thirty one, because I have! And then she said, she said I was a liar! So then I said she was just jealous-" Here, the second girl interupted with a snort, tossing her blonde curls out of her face.

"Yes Agent Robins?" asked Nicole, looking more and more amused. Jesse grinned, but said nothing. Rowan humphed and was about to start up again when Jesse narrowed her eyes, looking past Agent Grey.

"And what is going on over there?"

Nicole turned to see Agent Barton come walking in. With him were several familiar agents, Dr. Erik Selvig and a stranger in even stranger garb holding a glowing spear. Nicole quickly walked over, sending Agent Barton a questioning look,

"Is he…" she trailed off, not sure what to ask, but Barton merely dismissed her with a wave. Slightly insulted, she turned to leave when her radio turned on and Fury's voice came over it.

"Grey, Barton is compromised, repeat-" That was enough to Nicole and she dropped, rolling behind a stack of unpacked crates. Just in time too, for several bullets whizzed over her head. She yanked out her gun, standing to fire three shots at the retreating vehicle. She heard Fury's voice over the radio again,

"Pursue…" and wasted no time in hopping into a vehicle. She was about to tear after them when someone roughly shoved her over, into the passenger seat.

"Sorry, I'm driving," said Jesse as she slid in.

"But you're a pilot," protested Nicole, "you drive planes not cars!"

"Which are a heck of a lot more complicated than cars!" retorted Rowan who'd slide into the back and was opening a dangerous looking briefcase. She looked up as Nicole glared at her and grinned, saying,

"Step on it Jesse!"

"With pleasure!" Jesse grinned and stepped on it racing after the escaping vehicle. Nicole quickly opened the glove compartment of the car, pulling out another pistol and handing it to Jesse before taking a second for herself. Meanwhile in the backseat, Rowan had finished putting a large, formidable looking gun together. She hefted it one handed, using her free hand to brace herself against the seat.

"Heads up ladies!" She yelled before smashing the butt of the gun into the top window and shattering it. Glass rained down and Nicole flinched as a piece flew past, grazing her cheek.

"CARTER!" she yelled. Rowan popped her head in between the two front seats, asking innocently,

"Yes?" Gritting her teeth, Nicole said,

"You could have used the button." She pressed one on her control panel and what was left of the top window slide back. Rowan watched it in fascination before saying,

"Cool!" And standing through it, her gun now balanced on the hood of the car.

"WOO-HOOOOO!" screamed Jesse as the peeled around a corner. Nicole braced herself, glaring slightly, and yelling directions,

"Left!"

"Left?" Jesse asked, trying to be heard over the Code Red alarms that were now blaring away through the tunnels.

"Right!" Nicole confirmed.

"Right it is!" Yelled Jesse, starting to turn right.

"NO! LEFT!" screamed Nicole realizing her mistake. Jesse yanked the wheel hard and the car swerved, grating against the dividing wall before centering itself in the left passage. Up ahead the tunnel entered another and Nicole leaned into Jesse's ear, saying,

"This is where we'll intercept them! Make sure we've got clear shots!" Jesse nodded grimly, the humor now gone from her eyes.

"Watch the overhang!" she yelled up to Rowan, who ducked in time to avoid a beheading as they swerved into the main tunnel.

Behind them, they heard a gunshot and Nicole turned to see the escaping car now behind them.

"Now Jesse!" She yelled and Jesse spun the wheel, expertly doing a 180 so that they were now driving in reverse and facing their targets. Their front bumper connected with the other car and Nicole wasted no time in raising both guns and firing straight through the window.

The stranger with the giant glowstick had stood and he and Rowan were now having a face off, his spear shooting off pulses of energy and her gun blasting them into mini fireworks before they could do any damage.

Jesse had one hand out the window, firing shots as well, and the other, clenched on the wheel, trying to steer. Suddenly one of the energy beams slipped past and was head straight for the car.

Withdrawing her hand, Jesse wrenched on the wheel, barely managing to avoid it as she swerved around the car and doing a second 180 so that they were in pursuit once again. Rowan ducked back,

"Sorry guys, ran out of ammo!" Nicole nodded briefly in acknowledgement, her eyes never wavering from the car in front of them.

Suddenly another energy beamed hit the ground in front of them and the blast caused part of the wall to collapse. Jesse swerved to avoid it, but had to break to avoid smashing into the opposite wall. The next blast hit the ceiling halfway between the two cars and it collapsed, cutting them off.


	2. Chapter 2

Nicole stumbled out of the tunnel, groaning as she sank onto a large piece of rubble. Jesse and Rowan followed right behind her, equally tired and beat up.

"Well," gasped out Rowan. "That was fun…" Nicole glared as Jesse let out a breathy laugh.

"They got away," Nicole said scathingly. Jesse looked at Nicole sympathetically,

"Not our fault. We did the best we could." Nicole was about to retort when she heard Director Fury over her walkie talkie.

"Agent Grey… Agent Grey report!" he commended. She quickly pulled it to her mouth,

"Still alive sir."

"Glad to hear it. Damage assessment." Nicole turned back, walking up the incline to survey the late S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Where it had been was a crater.

"Well sir, we aren't rebuilding anytime soon. There's a five mile sinkhole and all the tunnels are collapsed. Agent Barton and his companions escaped."

"I know, they shot my helicopter out of the sky on their way out." Nicole winced,

"Sorry sir."

"Not a priority. Are there survivors?"

"Other than myself and Agents Carter and Robins? I don't know." Fury sighed,

"Get rescue squads formed, pull all survivors. Send out a Code Red to the nearest base and get a medical team here."

"Yes sir."

"Then meet me there."

"Yes sir." The line turned off and Nicole turned back to Rowan and Jesse, all business. "Well, we have our orders."

Rowan and Jesse groaned from their sprawled positions on the ground, but wearily got up. Nicole, suppressing an amused smile, said,

"Rowan, head to the West Entrance and Jesse, take the South. I'll check the North," she nodded to the tunnel they'd just exited, "and then scout the East." The girls nodded before heading off.

Pulling out her phone, Nicole opened her secure files and sent out a Code Red. The reply was immediate.

Medical Team on their way. Stay at the closest safe distance from Base.

Closing her phone, she sighed and trooped back into the tunnel, pulling out a flashlight as she entered the shadows.

"Agent Grey for you sir," the nurse announced respectfully as Nicole impatiently pushed past into Fury's tent. The Director was propped up in a bed, looking irritated.

"Agent Grey," he greeted.

"Sir."

"I assume you read the debriefing files I had sent to you?" Nicole nodded. "Then you understand that our situation is dire. With the tesseract in the hands of Loki, I have decided to reactivate the Avengers Initiative."

Agent Nicole's eyes widened.

"The Avengers Initiative sir? Wasn't that canceled by the council?" Fury didn't reply, merely raising an eyebrow.

"You decided without them, didn't you?" Fury cracked a smile at that,

"You're starting to catch on Agent Grey. Either way, I have a job for you." He gestured at a briefcase laying on the table next to him. Nicole hesitantly moved to it and opened it. Inside were more files.

She made no move to open them, "Sir?"

"We need teams to go out and… collect, as it were." Nicole's eyes narrowed,

"Collect?" Fury leaned back and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he responded heavily,

"We are calling in the Avengers."


	3. Chapter 3

Nicole stalked into the meeting room, all furious professionalism. Inside was a sleek, oblong table surrounded by shiny swivel chairs that were, fortunately for anyone sitting next to Jesse and Rowan, attached firmly to the ground.

Three ladies were already seated with closed briefing folders in front of them. Two of the ladies were Jesse and Rowan. The third was a professional, if petite girl with naturally highlighted sandy hair that curled slightly and clear, blue eyes.

"Welcome ladies," said Nicole as she swept in, taking her place at the head of the table. Behind her, Rowan mimicked her and Jesse barely smothered her giggles.

"Lea," said Nicole, pointedly looking at the third girl and ignoring the other two, "glad to have you." Lea smiled slightly, a gentle air of confusion about her face.

"Happy to be here Agent Grey, but," she paused, biting her lip, "why am I here?" Nicole gave her a sympathetic look,

"Director's orders. He has a job for us."

"What is it?" asked Rowan excitedly. Nicole picked up a slim remote, dimming the lights as a screen behind her flickered into life.

"Have you ever heard of the Avenger's Initiative?" Nicole asked. The other three shook their heads. "I didn't think so. It was a top secret project from a while ago-"

"If you knew we didn't know, why did you bother asking?" interrupted Rowan. Nicole glared at her, but otherwise ignored the interruption,

"... known only to Director Fury, the board and more recently, myself. The Avenger's Initiative is the formation of a highly elite… response team."

"Response team for what?" asked Lea softly as Nicole paused. Nicole took a deep breath,

"A response team for the world." The other three exchanged looks.

"And who," asked Jesse, "qualified to be on this Initiative?"

"DID I MAKE IT?!" blurted Rowan excitedly, spinning around a full 360 in her chair for effect. Nicole gave her a withering look,

"No." Rowan's face fell and Jesse patted her consolingly on the back, saying,

"I would have put you on the team." Rowan turned to her with the look of a hope, but Nicole interrupted the moment,

"Anyway, despite, Rowan not making the team, there are several potential members."

"Why are they potential?" asked Jesse and Nicole gave vent to another long suffering sigh.

"Because Nick Fury only ever told one of them about the existence of the project and at the time he didn't qualify to be on the team. Either way, in light of recent events, we have been hand chosen by Director Fury to be on Operation Retrieval, a five phase mission of retrieval."

"Retrieval of what?" asked Lea.

"The Avengers."

"Cool," breathed Rowan and Jesse.

"But why me?" asked Lea. "I'm in the healing ward and scientific operations. I'm not a missions agent."

"I know that, but Director Fury doesn't seem to care about what your 'division' entails. He chose each of us based on our past performances to see who would be most capable of getting the individual Avengers here.

"Each of us has been assigned a phase of the operation. I've called you here today on Director Fury's orders to debrief you all on your missions and send you on your separate ways. Understood?"

The three nodded silently.

"Good, then let's begin," Nicole turned to face the screen. "Phase 1: The Soldier. Lea, this is you. You're job is quite simple actually. You are to fetch Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America-"

"SHUT. UP." exclaimed Rowan. "Captain America? As in THE CAPTAIN AMERICA?!" Nicole rolled her eyes,

"You know more than one?"

"CAN I SWITCH WITH LEA?! PLEASE!"

"No! No switching jobs! Now shut up!" Nicole continued. "We have his current address and his training area. He rarely ventures outside of these two areas.

"The coordinates of both are in your folder. When we're done here, you go, get a ride and find him and bring him back. Understood?" Lea nodded. "Good. Read the folder onroute."

Nicole now turned to Rowan and Jesse,

"Against my advice, Director Fury has decided to team you two up for Phase 2: The Assassin." Nicole looked at them as though contemplating whether or not she would follow through with Fury's orders or give the job to someone more capable. Then the moment passed and she continued,

"Have you heard of Minx?" The two girls looked at each other, eyes wide. Finally, Jesse asked,

"As in Most Wanted in over sixty eight countries and organizations including S.H.I.E.L.D.? _That_ Minx?"

"_That_ Minx," said Nicole gravely, "apparently she too qualifies. Fury believes you two can… er… make her see the error of her ways. We've hired her several times before and Director Fury thinks she's 'warming up to us'.

"You two have coordinates and tracker identification codes for her in your folders, which you will also read onroute."

"What about the other phases?" asked Rowan curiously.

"I," Nicole said, "am assigned Phase 3: Male of Metal."

"What? Like Iron Man?" asked Lea in confusion.

"Yes, actually, _exactly_ like Iron Man. Fury's attempt at wit, I believe. Either way, Coulson is Phase 4: Gamma."

"Who's he collecting?" asked Rowan excitedly.

"The Hulk. And Fury is taking on Phase 5: Secret." The other three girls facing Nicole frowned.

"Secret?" asked Jesse. "Who is he getting then?" Nicole sighed and shrugged helplessly,

"I wasn't confided in on that point. He just said that he'd be taking it since it was the least likely to succeed."

"Well that's cryptic," said Lea, deep in thought.

"Yes is it," said Nicole, falling into pondering as well. Then she straightened, "But that's not our mission so we don't need to worry about it.

"It's early and there's a full day ahead for all of us ladies, so go get yourself a ride and get on your missions, keeping in mind this is a Security Code Red Operation. Keep your headsets on Fury's private channel, whose frequency is also found in your folders."

She paused, looking at the three agents in front of her with grim satisfaction.

"Well, you have your missions! Off you get!" The three stood, Rowan and Jesse racing each other out in their eagerness to get going. Lea, however, paused in the doorway, looking back.

"Agent Grey?"

"Yes Agent Charleson?"

"Why now? Why not before, when the Tesseract first appeared?" Nicole sighed, letting her exhaustion show for the first time.

"I don't know," she said wearily. "I just don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

Lea looked from her phone with its GPS app to the imposing building in font of her. The apartment complex was huge and quite imposing in all its shiny modern glory.

She sighed, wondering how she was supposed to carry out her mission. She'd always been a bit of a nerd and had never been obsessed with superheroes, so she didn't even know what captain America looked like! Not without the spangled suit at least, and she suspected (and hoped) that he didn't wear that 24/7.

With that cheering thought, she shook her head, braced herself for what she was starting to fear would be a trial and walked inside the building.

The lobby was spacious with a polished reception desk opposite the door. Behind it stood a bored looking receptionist filing her nails. Lea walked up to the desk and waited.

The receptionist didn't look up.

Lea coughed subtly, trying to get the woman's attention, but apparently filing one's nails was an all consuming task and the lady continued to ignore her. Lea was starting to get annoyed.

This wasn't her division. She shouldn't have to be here, but did she have a say? No, of course not! When Director High-In-The-Instep-Fury says jump, everyone's expected to leap. Now, a receptionist was so busy filing her nails, she couldn't be bothered to point Lea in the direction of a superhero that could the their only hope of, oh you know, saving the world!

Frustrated, Lea rang the bell at the desk. Not once, as it was meant to function, but seven times in quick succession. The sudden and unexpected noise caused the secretary to jump and stared at Lea with wide eyes.

Good, thought Lea maliciously.

Before Lea could ask the woman to point her in the direction of the gym, a muffled chukcle interrupted her.

The receptionist's, who was facing the source of the merriment, demeanor completely changed. Instantly, her reproachful look melted away to be replaced by a simpering look that really just made her look like she was sucking on lemons.

Lea rolled her eyes, turning to the voice and froze. The receptionist's reaction now made complete sense.

Leaning against one of the artistic pillars was a man. A blonde haired, blue eyed and extremely fit man, still trying to hide his amuesment at Lea's tantrum involving the reception bell.

Lea blinked, shaking off her surprise and raised an eyebrow at the stranger,

"May I help you?" The man smiled apologetically, and said,

"Sorry for laughing, it was rude of me. You look like you could use some assistance."

"I'm trying," she turned to glare at the still-simpering receptionist, "to find the nearest gym." The blinked in surprise,

"There's one in the building. Would you like me to show you?" He offered. Lea instinctively protested,

"Oh no, it's alright-"

"I insist," he cut her off, offering her his arm in a surprisingly gesture. She hesitantly took it and he smiled down at her laughingly, admitting,

"I was going there anyway."

With that he led her out of the lobby, nodding politely with a smile at the reception woman who sighed dreamily as the elevator doors closed behind them. Seemingly unconsious, of the effect he had, he pressed the basement level's button.

Lea awkwardly stood in the corner, trying to find something to say. The man, however, saved her, by saying,

"I haven't seen you before, do you live in one of the apartments?" She smiled at him, grateful that she didn't have to try and start a conversation.

"No, actually, I'm looking for someone and I suspect he will be in the gym."

He looked interested,

"Really? Friend of yours?" Lea took a moment, trying to think up a suitable answer. Finally, she answered,

"We have... Mutual friends." He nodded in understanding, but didn't probe further, for which Lea was secretly grateful. She wasn't very good and controlling conversations and was worried she'd let something slip.

"Do you live here?" She returned.

"Yes," he answered, but didn't say anything else.

For a moment, Lea toyed with the idea of asking him if he knew where she might find Steve Rogers, a.k.a. 'Captain America', but then dismissed the idea. This was a top secret mission after all. Lean frowned at the thought, still upset she'd had to be assigned on feild work.

If the man noticed the change in her demeanor, he didn't comment, merely waiting patiently until the elevator doors dinged open.

"This way," he said, taking the lead. Lea followed, hesitantly, trying to scrape together what she was going to say to Captain America.

Her guide finally stopped in front of a metal door, sliding his apartment card in to unlock it. Then he stepped back holding the door for her. She gave him a surprised smile and stepped in.

The gym was spacious with some simple weights tucked away and treadmill machines lined up. More prominent were the punching bags. She noticed with some curiosity that on the farthest one, there was a pile of punching bags next to it.

However, it was empty of people.

She groaned inwardly, wondering what she was supposed to do now. Go stake out his apartment door?

The man walked past her nd she recalled her manners,

"Oh thank you..." She paused, then continued hesitantly, "Um, I don't actually know your name..." The man turned back, giving her a strange, searching look. She shifted, uncomfortable under his intense gaze. He finally seemed satisfied and replied,

"Your welcome and I'm sorry you couldn't find who you were looking for. My name's Steve." Lea turned away to leave, but then froze.

Steve? It couldn't be... She turned around slowly, watching his back as he retreated to the farthest punching bag. Could it?

"That is Steve Rogers by any chance?" She asked. He was in the process of setting down his duffle bag, but stiffened when he heard her. Very slowly, he stood and turned to face her, his face guarded and set.

"And who might you be?"

Lea could have cried. Part of that was out of relief that she didn't have to become a stalker to keep her job. The other part had to do with her spending a good ten minutes in this man's company and not once realizing his identity. She closed her eyes and mentally facalmed,

"And this is why I don't do fieldwork," she muttered to herself. Then she focused on the man still facing her warily.

"I'm Agent Charleson. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D.," she said, trying to regain her composure and not show how embarrassed she was. The information, however, did nothing to relax him. Rogers continued to eye her as though she were some sort of time bomb.

"What do you want?" he finally asked. Glad they were getting somewhere, but hoping the staring contest he seemed intent on would end soon, Lea cleared her throat, reaching into her black bag.

Rogers tensed when he initially saw her movement and she inwardly scoffed. What did he think she was going to do? Pull out a gun and assassinate him? Like I even know how to work a gun. Then she remembered that, for all he knew using a gun was her forte. She slowly pulled out the file that Director Fury had instructed her to give to Captain America and set it on a nearby bench, backing away.

Seeing her cautious movements, Rogers relaxed slightly, coming forward to pick up the folder. He opened it, flipping through without really absorbing the information.

"What is this?" He asked, looking back up at Lea. She sighed, realizing she'd have to explain the events of the last few days.

"You remember the tesseract? The glowing blue thing that they found with you under ice?" He nodded and she continued, "S.H.I.E.L.D. was in possession of it." She paused and he cut in,

"I know, but you said 'was'. What happened?"

"Perceptive," she smiled, then sobered up. "It was acting up, sending out flares of gamma radiation."

"Why?" Lea shrugged in frusteration. She'd been on the elite team of scientists who had been working with the tesseract and their failure rubbed the wrong way.

"Before we could figure that out, it opened a portal and he came through." She said darkly. Rogers frowned,

"He?"

"Loki." When Rogers opened his mouth to ask who Loki was, Lea shook her head, "You'll hear enough of him later and there's a profile in the folder. Point is, he took the tesseract, some of our best agents and then collapsed the entire base."

Rogers looked slightly impressed, taking a moment to let it all sink in. Finally, he asked ,

"But... What does that have to do with me?" Lea bit her lip. She wasn't supposed to say anything about the Avengers yet.

"Director Fury is calling you in."

"Why?"

"Read Loki's profile and you'll understand." When he didn't look convinced, she sighed, "Look, just read the folder tonight. When you're done, use this." She tossed him a small keychain which he caught deftly.

"It'll summon you a ride to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base." He looked from the folder and button to her,

"What if I don't want to come?" Suddenly tired and feeling a headache coming, Lea sighed,

"Then don't press it."

"I have a choice?" He asked skeptically, one eyebrow raised. She reluctantly grinned,

"Whose answer do you want? Fury would say 'yes', but mean 'no'." His eyes twinkled in amusement for a moment. Then he asked,

"What would you say?" Lea sighed,

"It's your call, I don't care. Press it or don't." She turned to leave, but paused at the doorway to looked back at Rogers, who was staring at the folder in curiosity.

"But be forewarned," she began and he looked up. A small smile crept onto her face once more.

"If you decide not to come, I wouldn't put it past Fury to send someone to kidnap you."

She turned and left, his laughter following her out.


	5. Chapter 5

Jesse and Rowan decided to ditch their 'designated ride' and 'designated driver'. They watched the uptight pilot frantically searching for them as they hide between some metal barrels.

"Wait for it... Wait for it..." Cautioned Jesse as Rowan wiggled excitedly. As she watched, their misled pursuit disappeared into a different hanger.

"Okay, go go go!" Like a horse at a race, Rowan was off at the signal, weaving her way from plane to plane. Jesse followed behind, keeping careful lookout.

"Drop! Someone's coming!" Rowan and Jesse both hit the deck (quite literally) behind another stack of supplies. Jesse slowly peeked over the top, watching the unaware security guard stroll through.

"Okay, go again!" Rowan took off, quickly slipping up to a official looking door. Here, she stopped and frowned at the security keypad.

"How do we get through?" She asked Jesse.

"Move," whispered her friend, pushing past to see the keypad.

"Why aren't we taking your plane?" Asked Rowan, taking over the position of lookout. Jesse, still fiddling with the security, replied,

"Because that's the first place they'll look for us. Besides, I've Ben dying to try out their new planes!" As she finished, she let a satisfied 'hah' as she popped off the the panel revealing a complex set of chords.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out some small wire cutter and pliers and moments later there she reattached the panel, pressed the enter button and the doors slid open with a soft 'ding'. Rowan stared at her friend suspiciously,

"Where did you learn to do that?" Jesse merely grinned, holding a finger to her lips before leading the way into the hanger, the doors closing behind them and relocking.

"Alright, we have roughly eight minutes and forty one seconds before the alarm goes off," said Jesse, rubbing her hands together gleefully. Rowan, hoisted her backpack up and nodded, saluting,

"So, which plane are we taking?" Jesse turned to face their selection and let out a low whistle. High tech, sleek planes were lined up perfectly along the walls. Fortunately, the hanger was empty of other people, who might have questioned Rowan and Jesse's presence.

Giving herself a moment to bask in its awesomeness, Jesse considered her options. Then, with a decided air, she pointed to the third own down.

"That one."

"Okey-dokey," said Rowan cheerily, skipping over to the plane. Jesse was forced to repeat the hacking process to bypass security and get the ramp to drop.

"I think we're down to four minutes," said Jesse as they boarded the plane. Rowan nodded, setting her backpack on one of the bunks. Jesse headed straight to the pilot's seat.

Muttering to herself, she started fiddling with the controls. It only took a moment for the plane to light up. She pumped her fist victoriously, and Rowan applauded.

Just then, alarms began going off and the open take off door started closing.

"What was that about four minutes?" asked Rowan, watching security agents come running in.

Jesse cracked her knuckles, her signature grin spreading across her face,

"Let's do this."

Coulson faced the man nervously. In the poor light of the dingy room, his face was unreadable and given his... history, Coulson was treading very thin ice. However, there was no retreating now.

After a tense moment of silence, the man asked,

"So... How did you find me?"

"We never lost you," replied Coulson. "We simply stepped back."

A pause.

"I see."

The man fell into silence again, leaving Coulson fidgeting nervously behind his calm, business-like exterior.

The night stretched out across the city around the roof where the dark figure crouched. She was tense, but paused to enjoy the peaceful view of the twinkling buildings. The serenity, however, was marred by the sudden alarms that went off behind her.

A Cheshire smile stretched her lips and she slung a sack over her shoulder and took off, leaping from rooftop to rooftop away from the uproar.

After a good five minutes of running, she paused, searching the streets for pursuit. Seeing none, she turned and cockily swaggered across the roof to sit and enjoy the view once again.

Suddenly, lights filled the air and the soundtrack to Tron was being blasted across the city. The girl jumped, swinging around to see a huge, sleek, black ship hovering over the roof.

A ramp lowered and a figure ran with a megaphone peered over the edge so that she was sort of hanging upside down as she looked at the thief. She seemed to be struggling with the megaphone and finally resorted to smacking it on the outside of the ship. This method appeared to work as the next moment, a feminine voice was blaring out over the Tron music.

"Are you Minx?!" The thief stared at the ship, recognizing S.H.I.E.L.D. technology as the hanging figure waited for a response. After a moment, she repeated herself, louder.

"WE AREN'T HERE TO ARREST YOU! ARE YOU MINX?!" The question finally registered and the woman nodded, now searching for an escape.

To her annoyance, the alarms that had faded were now approaching, attracted by the sudden chaos she had been surrounded by.

"BRILLIANT! ALL ABOARD!" Yelled the figure, swing up and out of sight.

"What if I don't want to come?!" retorted Minx.

The figure swung back down.

"FINE, BE ARRESTED IF YOU LIKE!" Minx gave a moments thought to escaping- she knew she could- but her curiosity got the better of her and she quickly ran and boarded the craft.

The moment she did, the ramp closed and the plane took off, the Tron music and music turning off as it faded into the night sky.

Minx looked about her in interest, surprised to see only two you g women aboard. Both were by by the front and one was piloting. After a minute of hushed whispering, the one steering pressed a button and stood, announcing,

"There, it's on autopilot so we can introduce ourselves!" The other girl (who must have been the one with the megaphone) grinned,

"I'm Agent Rowan Carter from-"

"S.H.I.E.L.D., yes, I know," interrupted Minx. The girl shrugged good naturedly and the other one (the pilot) piped up,

"And I'm Agent Jesse Robin, flying ace and pilot extraordinaire!" I looked at them critically,

"I'm-"

"Minx. Yes, we know," cut in Rowan mischievously. Minx looked at her for a moment,

"My reputation precedes me, excellent. How did you find me?"

"From what I understood," said Jesse, "Fury heard rumors of a prototype for short distance teleportation being developed in Washington and had a hunch that you'd be here, if not hired but the Russians, the of your own accord." Minx grinned,

"So, what does S.H.I.E.L.D. want from me this time?" The girls exchanged a look before Rowan went to a heavy duty backpack, rummaged for a moment and then returned, handing Minx a file.

Minx looked at it, then gave the girls a questioning look.

"Have you heard of the tesseract?" asked Jesse, leaning against the side of the ship and crossing her arms. Minx nodded slowly,

"I've heard rumors..."

"Well up until three days ago, it was in the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D..." said Rowan. Minx caught on,

"Who took it?"

"Guy named Loki. Fury mentioned you knew about the New Mexico incident?" Minx nodded. "Well Loki happens to be Thor's brother from another world and caused the destruction of that town by sending down his buddy, Furnace Face." Minx nodded again.

"See the tesseract apparently can act as a portal and, three days ago, that's exactly what it did," said Rowan. Minx nodded, seeing where this was headed.

"And this Loki came through?" she hazarded and the two girls nodded. "So why is Fury calling me in?"

"That," said Jesse, "is confidential. Which means that you'll find out, but Fury, drama queen that he is, wants to be the one to tell you when we arrive."

She glanced out the window as she moved back to the pilot's seat and added,

"Which should be soon."

Minx looked outside in confusion. The sun was just coming up, giving off enough light for her to see their surroundings. Which happened to be endless water.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top secret base is a boat?" she asked skeptically. Jesse and Rowan shared a grin, but Rowan only said,

"More or less."

_A nurse led Fury down a pristine hallway that reeked of chlorine. Lining the hallway were rows and rows of identical doors: each metal, with a small tinted window at the top._

_At the very end of the hallway the nurse stopped at the last door, turning to Fury._

_"She's in here, sir."_

_"Thank you," he said not even looking as the nurse handed him the key and walked off. Slowly, he moved forward and twisted the key in the lock, hearing it click into place._

_The door swung open to reveal only shadows that reach out from the chamber's concealed depths. Fearless, Nick Fury stepped inside, leaving the door open and squinting into the dark._

_"Hello Alana," he said calmly._

_From somewhere in the very back of the room came a low hiss and a feminine figure stepped into the light..._


	6. Chapter 6

"Agent Grey requesting entrance…" Jarvis's clear, electronic voice rang out in the spacious and modern apartment. Tony was lounging on one of his leather couches, a wine glass in one hand and the television remote in the other.

"Not home," he responded airily, continuing to flick through the channels.

"Sir," said Jarvis after a moment's pause, "she is… insistent."

"Well that is a shame," replied Tony, still unconcerned, "because I'm. Not. Home."

"As you say, Sir," said Jarvis, falling silent again, presumably to pass on the message. Suddenly Tony's phone went off. He picked it up to see Nicole glowering at him on a voice message.

"Tony Stark you get up off your lazy, good-for-nothing butt and let me up this instant-"

"Hello," he said interrupting her, "you've reached the life model of Tony Stark. Please leave a message."

"Listen, Princess, this is urgent-"

"Then leave it urgently."

With an ominous 'ding' he heard the elevator doors open and Jarvis's tardy warning,

"Sir, the security systems have been hacked…"

"Gee thanks," Tony muttered to Jarvis getting up and greeting Nicole, with an accusing, "That, my dear, is called breaking and entering."

She raised her eyebrows and ignored his threat, handing him a manila folder and saying,

"Here."

"What's this?" asked Tony, not opening the folding, but giving Nicole a searching glance. Nicole sighed,

"Fury's calling you in. Against my advice, I might add."

"You might," he instinctively responded. "But why? What happened?"

"You remember the Tesseract?"

"The ice cube of destiny? Yeah."

"Well its been stolen."

"Stolen?" this got Tony's attention. "By who?"

"Loki, brother of Thor, the two… foreigners involved in the New Mexico incident."

"I don't know anything about that," said Tony innocently. "That's classified S.H.I.E.L.D. information." Nicole raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway," she went on, "Fury is putting together a response team. If Loki has the tesseract, there's no telling what he could do with it."

"Response team?" questioned Tony.

"The Avengers," said Nicole bluntly. Tony looked at her for a long moment.

"I was told the Avengers Initiative was shut down. Besides, I didn't qualify."

"It was and you didn't. Don't."

"So where, pray tell, do I come in?"

"We need you to work with some colleagues in tracking the tesseract through gamma radiation." Just then, Nicole's phone buzzed to life, Fury's face appearing on the screen.

"Agent Grey, report," he said unsmilingly.

"File just delivered, Sir. About to head out now."

"Good work Nicole."

"Nicole?" interrupted Tony. "Who's Nicole? Her first name is Agent." Nicole rolled her eyes, moving her phone so that Fury could see Tony.

"Stark," greeted the unamused Director. Tony returned a cocky smile,

"Bluebeard, good to see you too!"

"Shut up. Nicole, return to base double time and bring Stark with you." Without waiting for a response the feed went dead. Nicole sighed, muttering,

"Aye, aye Captain." Tony snorted,

"I'll just go pack my bags then." Nicole glared at him, before saying stiffly,

"You have ten minutes, soldier."

Steve Rogers stepped off the hover craft with a tired glance about him. He hadn't wanted to come but his sense of duty had pestered him into this excursion. Though, if he was completely honest with himself, his curiosity had played a role as well.

"Welcome aboard, Captain," said a smart looking agent, saluting him.

He returned the gesture with the practised ease of a veteran.

"Thank you, glad to be here…" he trailed off and she obliged him by introducing herself.

"Agent Grey."

"Pleasure to meet you," he said, nodding politely. She raised an eyebrow at him, but made no comment. Just then, another helicopter landed, it's departure ramp lowering and allowing another team of soldiers to disembark.

One individual was out of place and Agent Grey quickly veered towards the stranger to greet him.

"Banner. I'm Agent Grey," she said, with a formal nod. Bruce Banner nodded back, looking about himself in ironic amusement.

Steve had followed her over and now greeted him as well, offering a handshake.

"I hear you're the best when it comes to gamma radiation."

"Is that all you've heard about me?" he asked dryly, accepting the Captain's proffered hand in his firm grasp.

"That's all I care about," responded Steve professionally without hesitation.

Suddenly some internal machines began whirring and Steve and Banner looked about in confusion.

"Boys," said Agent Grey coolly, "if you'd follow me inside. It's about to get a little hard to breathe out here…"

Ignoring her, Banner walked over to the side of the ship, Rogers in tow.

"This is a submarine? Really?" he asked. "They want me in a pressurized container underwater?"

"Fine. Don't listen to me," mutter Agent Grey under her breathe and she marched over to the two gentlemen. "Come on." she order, propelling them towards the door. "You can watch the show inside!"

The two men obeyed this time and she followed behind, still complaining under her breathe,

"It's not like I work here or anything. Blow off for all I care…"

She entered the base behind them and they parted allowing her to take the lead, unaware of her annoyance.

"Follow me," she said, and set off down the hall, both Banner and Rogers following.


End file.
